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Drifting

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Rachel Maddow joins us for today’s show! We’ll discuss everything from the current state of the American media to changes in U.S. military policy, and perhaps even mixology. Robert Kanigel talks about On an Irish Island, his book about the country’s great literary traditions and the vanishing Irish language. Today’s installment of BBC’s A History of the World in 100 Objects looks at a Japanese bronze mirror. Plus our latest Underreported segment takes a look at a secret NSA data storage facility.

Rachel Maddow, host the Emmy Award–winning "Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC, talks about the rise of executive authority and the gradual outsourcing of war to private contractors, and argues that this distances the American people from the human and financial costs of war. In Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power, she makes the case that the priorities of the national security state have been allowed to overpower our political discourse. She'll also talk about the upcoming election, politics, and her show.

Robert Kanigel tells the story of Great Blasket, an island off the west coast of Ireland renowned during the early 20th century for the rich communal life of its residents and the unadulterated Irish they spoke. With the Irish language vanishing all through the rest of Ireland, the Great Blasket became a magnet for scholars and writers drawn there during the Gaelic renaissance. On an Irish Island is a love letter to a vanished way of life.

On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency issued the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from newly constructed power plants. On today’s Backstory, Washington Post environment reporter Juliet Eilperin discusses why many are saying that the rule, which was years in the making, will mean the end of new coal-fired power plants.

Wired correspondent James Bamford describes the $2 billion Utah Data Center that is being constructed for the National Security Agency. It’s expected to be up and running in 2013 and will house their database for all forms of communication—emails, cell phone calls, Internet searches, and even bookstore purchases.

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